Day: June 28, 2012

Troy Schielen, a Marine who served in Iraq, was in on the intial invasion and well, is very outspoken. From the Dunlap area, he's now out of the Corps. Love the guy for his honesty. We don't always see eye to eye but he speaks from the heart. Warning, some of his comments might not be safe for work:

This does not surprise me coming from a Supreme Court that has just backed a socialistic health care plan by Obama. Its not surprising that they did not support the military in ensuring that some low-life garbage wont disrespect all of us by wearing and portraying themselves to be a servicemember and most of which falsely wear combat valor devices which is a disgrace.

So, in my opinion, this is only another example of our disgraceful governent and their agendas. But let me tell you this and you can print this anywhere you want. IF I ever come across a scamming low life imposter disrespecting those of us that have paid with our blood and sweat…dishonoring our fallen comrades that can no longer celebrate freedom with us, I will gladly go to jail with a huge smile on my face for beating them so bad, filling their bodies with so much pain that they pray for me to kill them…but I never will. Maybe just then they understand a very small part of the pain that a lot of us have endured for years. I would never show a low life scumbag like that any mercy. Semper Fi.

Dr. Richard Pearl, a surgeon at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in the Children's Hospital. 29-year Army Vet who served in the First Gulf War and in Vietnam. a retired colonel. Good people.

“If you want to be a liar, that’s freedom of speech? Well, that’s stunning. I am very disappointed. Why would you want to pass or support a freedom of speech law which allows people to say that they are something when they aren’t? It’s illogical.”

Bruce Thiemann, a local attorney who is very active in veteran’s issues He’s helped with the Peoria County World war I and II memorial. A Vietnam vet, he was a door gunner on UH-1s.

“It’s a slap in the face to those who did things and were awarded medals.” If the Supreme Court of the United States says that people can walk around claiming to be veterans, to be heroes and to have received these medals, it is going to cause in the future, the public to question anyone who is pointed to as a veteran. How are you going to know? They could be a fraud. If there is no consequences to lying, then how are you going to know that someone isn’t?”

And on the other side, the ACLU. I know, you love to hate them but this is a group that we alll need to get behind. Yes, they do things we hate. And yes, they defend people who aren't good, but a free society is judged not by speech that we like but by speech we don't like.

Ed Yohnka, a spokesman from the Illinois ACLU. Good guy and someone whom I have dealt with for years.

"We applaud the Court’s decision, rejecting the government’s sweeping argument that false statements could be criminalized. Though we may not like to admit this, many people – including perfectly respectable people – sometimes lie to protect their privacy, avoid hurt feelings and protect themselves and others from prejudice. It is up to us as individuals to separate what is true from what is false and to decide what ideas to introduce into private conversation and public debate. Today’s decisions aligns squarely with that First Amendment principle.”

Wow, so I guess I am an Army Ranger now. Wow. I don't know what to say but I think this is a bad decision by the High Court. No, I am not a lawyer. Yes, I am a reporter who makes his living on the First Amendment. I support the rights of people to march and protest. I support the rights of people to burn the flag as it is an extreme act of political speech. No, I don't want people to do it just like i don't want the Nazis to march. But in a free society, we are judged by how we treat the worst of the worst. but this is too much even for a guy like me.

Look, I get we all want to be heroes but we can’t all be heroes. And I get that right now, it’s chic and cool to be a service member. Trust me, I see it all the time as part of my job, and I’d be lying to you now if I didn’t feel a bit envious. No, I didn’t serve. I couldn’t. Health reasons kept me out but I don’t lie about it. And now, because of his act, I have to ask every veteran for a DD-214 to make sure they are who they say they are. I disagree with the Court that this causes no harm. Go ask Hal Fritz, our Medal of Honor guy. Yeah, that Hal Fritz, the guy who has earned the title. He’s the president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. There are 81 living heroes left who have done above and beyond and then some to earn this medal. And theare are probalby 10 times more who lie about having it.

“We certainly in the Medal of Honor Society are very displeasd with this decision of the Supreme Court. When you look at the decision, it says there is no profod that it degrades the value and the honor of earning those medals. I certainly disagree with that. 'You look in the eyes of a widow who is holding a Purple Heart that represents her husband's valor and his wounds that caused him to die on the battlefields of Afghanistan and you tell her that.”

He wants a new law written that will fit within the court’s ruling but provide some teeth nap these ner-do-wells who would pose as a soldier. The MOHS can't advocate or push for new laws so they have a foundation. If you are interested, surf over to their Web site for more information on that.

Okay, you are saying, hey, I just put it on Facebook. I am not trying to get anything out of if. Really Facebook Ranger? Then I am the Pope. come on, you only post things onto Facebook to get love from the rest of the world. Hal, what do you think?

“They are doing it for personal gain. That’s exactly what they use it for. We wouldn’t be diluting the guarenttee of the First Amendment by doing penalizing those who lie about earning awards.”

It certainly angers me. 'I have carried the bodies of men off the battlefield and I have held men in my arms who have died on the battlefield. To hear there are individuals out there who falsely claim to have this type of experience, it causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up,' he said.

It is wrong, people. In another post, I’ll have more. Hal gets his own blog post. My blog. My right. Go get ‘em Hal.

While the Government’s interest in protecting the integrity of the Medal of Honor is beyond question, the First Amendment requires that there be a direct causal link between the restriction imposed and the injury to be prevented. Here, that link has not been shown. The Government points to no evidence supporting its claim that the public’s general perception of military awards is diluted by false claims such as those made by respondent. And it has not shown, and cannot show, why counterspeech, such as the ridicule respondent received online and in the press, would not suffice to achieve its interest.

Kennedy has been the BMOC this week. He was huge in the ruliing on Tuesday involving juvenile life sentences and now this. Military bloggers are going through the roof on this but are suprisingly calm. It appears, from my reading that the bill wasn't narrowly tailored enough. Congress will likely take this opinion and write a new law. So for at least a bit, you can pretend to be a Navy SEAL or Facebook Ranger. We'll have complete coverage throughout the day. IF you are a vet, weigh in. If you are a free speech advocate, weigh in.

Alito, Scalia and Thomas voted to uphold the law which was shot down by the other six justices.

SCOTUS could rule today on whether it is legal to lie about being in the miiltary.

SCOTUS could rule today on whether it is legal to lie about being in the miiltary. Big issue as of late as readers of this blog now. Just go to any veterans or military blog and you'll see stories, postings, blogs, whatever, of Facebok rangers, Medal of Honor winners with a million medals and people who were in the "stuff" but can't talk about it due to regulations. Problem is most of them are lying.

A few years ago, Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act which made it a crime to lie about such things. THe law was struck down by a federal appeals court in California. Now the Supremes have a chance to decide if it is okay to lie or if it should be against the law. Fascinating question.

Please post here if you have an opinion with an email address so I might be able to reach you later for my story